WALTHAM, Mass., Jan. 10
/PRNewswire/ -- Revit Technology Corporation
(
www.revit.com), creator of the first parametric building modeller for the AEC
industry, announced today the addition of several new academic institutions to
the Revit Academic Alliance program.
Revit Technology continues to strengthen
its commitment to the next generation of AEC professionals by granting program
licenses for its parametric building modeller at no charge to higher-education
institutions.
Most recently, Revit Technology welcomed the University of
Oregon, Montana State University-Bozeman, Mississippi State University, and
the New Jersey Institute of Technology to its academic grant program, which
supports the innovative use of parametric building technology for teaching and
research.

Because parametric building technology that is also easy to learn and use
is only available in Revit, the system offers an exceptional vehicle for
teaching architectural design concepts at the university level.
Legacy CAD
software is cumbersome and time consuming to master and is typically a source
of frustration in architectural education.
Revit's parametric building
modeller enables students to focus their energy and resources on learning and
practicing design concepts rather than struggling with the design technology
itself.
The ability to work quickly and effectively using software tools is a
particularly critical advantage in the academic environment due to the time
constraints of academic schedules.

Since launching the Academic Alliance in 2000, Revit has experienced
significant growth in interest from both students and faculty.
For example,
at Montana State University-Bozeman, a group of students who recognized the
value of Revit's intuitive and comprehensive design capabilities led the
effort to bring the software into the university's classrooms.
Student
success with Revit in both academic and professional assignments prompted
Steve Juroszek, assistant professor at the University's School of
Architecture, to apply for an academic grant from Revit.
Juroszek also cited
the software's ease of use, ability to simultaneously create 2D and 3D plans
and rendering capabilities as sources of Revit's popularity among his
students.

"My students who worked with Revit found the software intuitive and easy
to learn," said Steve Juroszek, assistant professor at Montana State
University's School of Architecture.
"As anyone familiar with architectural
CAD software knows, the ability to make revisions at any point in the design
process and have the software reflect those changes in all aspects of a
project is a remarkable advantage.
Revit helps facilitate the learning
process by allowing students to focus on the discipline of architecture
without being limited by the software."

At Mississippi State University, Revit received the highest overall rating
in an evaluation of several architectural CAD programs conducted by graduate
students of the university's architectural design program.
Larry Barrow, AIA
and Director of the University's Digital Research Imaging Lab, instructed
students to rate each program on a series of factors including ease-of-use,
customer support, ability to estimate cost, rendering and parametric
capabilities.
According to Barrow, the evaluation was an important exercise
in learning how to assess not only a system's capabilities but its practical
applications as well.

"From an educational standpoint, it is vital for our students to gain
exposure to innovative technology such as Revit," Barrow said. "Entrenching
them in one program not only limits their creativity and skills but
potentially narrows the scope of job prospects as well.
Accordingly, students
who learn to make critical assessments will be better prepared to determine
what the best available technology is for a particular task rather than simply
defer to what may be considered the standard."

A departure from legacy CAD software, Revit's integrated parametric
building modeller lays the foundation for the entire industry -- architects,
engineers, owner/operators and construction professionals -- to transform the
process of how buildings are designed, constructed and operated over their
lifecycle.
Revit's parametric change engine automatically reflects any design
change throughout the entire project, managing all CAD chores related to the
project while the architect concentrates on the design intent.
Ultimately,
Revit empowers architects and designers to explore multiple design options and
delivers higher quality designs in a fraction of the time required using other
CAD products.

"We have witnessed strong demand from the academic community for our
parametric building modeller," said Rick Rundell, director of Revit's Academic
Alliance program.
"The Revit Academic Alliance is a reflection of Revit
Technology's commitment to enhancing the learning experience for aspiring AEC
professionals and is a terrific opportunity for the educational community to
work with a product on the leading edge of building design technology."

For the current 2001-2002 academic year, Revit Technology has already
awarded grants valued at over $1.7 million for more than 1,000 academic
subscriptions and is still accepting grant applications.
Grant applications
are welcome from degree-granting college and university architecture and
building-oriented programs in North America and in selected overseas
locations.
Grant applications from secondary school programs in North America
will also be considered.
For more information regarding proposal format and
grant requirements, please visit www.revit.com or contact Rick Rundell at 781-
839-5300 or
Email Contact.

About Revit Technology Corporation

Founded in 1997, Revit Technology Corporation is revolutionizing building
design with Revit -- the first parametric building modeler developed for the
AEC industry.
Revit's advanced parametric technology offers unprecedented
ease of use in a product that has been designed to enable architects,
engineers, owner/operators and construction professionals to transform the
entire process by which buildings are designed, constructed and operated over
their lifecycle.
With offices in the United States and United Kingdom, and
Revit Solutions Providers throughout the EU, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific,
Revit's revolutionary building technology is in use by leading architectural,
building and construction management firms such as Little & Associates
Architects, George B.H. Macomber Company, NBBJ, WAT&G and WOW Architecture.
Investors in Revit Technology Corporation include Dassault Systemes S.A.
(Nasdaq: DASTY, Bourse de Paris), FleetBoston Financial Corporation
(NYSE:
FBF -
news), Atlas Venture and North Bridge Venture Partners.
For more
information, please visit www.revit.com or call +1-781-839-5300.